_ catalog is so interesting I would 
_ tion of Penstemons, 







PIONEER SEED COMPANY 

Since 191] . : 
In The Maill 
We haven’t noticed the severe 
cold weather so much the last 
few weeks due mainly to so many 
nice letters we get in the mail. 
Each mail brings letters about 
the new catalog form, and we 
surely are pleased to know so 
Many of our cUlstomers§ are 
pleased, too, 
For instance, William  Culber- 
son of Briarcliff Arboretum in 
Cincinnati says, “I was very 
pleased to get the little paper and 
I shall look forward to getting 
it again,” and he surely will. It 
would be nice if he would tell us 
about some of his special favor- 
ites in the Briarcliff Arboretum. 
And then Mrs. E. A. Boyrie of 
Clackamas, Ore., asks, “re: Lew- 
isia rediviva, one of the four best 
rock garden plants; what are the 
other three?” Well, maybe we 
‘stuck our head out too far on that 
remark, Mrs, Boyrie, any way 
the other three gives one plenty 
ot room for selection. What would 




Kodiak, Alaska 
During the past.month I have 
read of a wedding party from 
Kodiak being ship wrecked and in 
the icy waters and then. of the 
wreck of a steamer on Kodiak Is- 
land, and with the sub-zero wea- 



: RARE AND POPULAR FLOWER. SEED: 
VEGETABLE «x» GRASS SEEDS _ 
GARDENER’S SUPPLIES — Be = 
DIMONDALE, MICHIGAN, — 
Kodiak, Alaska Garden Club 1947 Flower Show | 
—> 

ther we are having in Michigan, 
one wonders what the climate is 
in Alaska. Well, I am afraid it is 
not all as bad as we picture it and 
I hope that none of our customers 
on Kodiak Island were involved in 
any of the wrecks we have just 
mentioned; similar accidents hap- 
pen here too. 
All this.reminds me of an in-~ 
teresting letter we had this sum- 
mer from Mrs. Wheeldon at 
Kodiak. She writes the following 
on June 26th: “I will try &@nd give 
you some idea of what can be 
grown here, our seasons are short 
and most all annuals must be 
started indoors. Some years like 
this year, we do not get our vege; 
table seed in the ground till the 
middle of June. Lettuce, radish, 
carrots and ruta bagas can be 
sown outdoors. Cabbage, cauli- 
flower, brussel sprouts must be 
started indoors, but all of these 
grow very large in our short sea- 
son. Peas can be planted the first 
of May and I have seen them 8 
feet high with 9 peas to the pod. 
Perennials grow very well but 
we cannot grow any vines and 
there are no wild vines. Roses 
are very difficult to grow, not be- 
cause they freeze but sometimes 
we have very early hot spells and 
then it will freeze again and we 
lose a lot of our woody plants, « 
Nasturtiums, African Daisies, 
Nemophila, Scarlet Flax, Califor- 
nia Poppy and Bachelor Buttons 
can be planted early and they grow 
| profusely. Delphiniums grow to 
be over 6 feet high and I had some 
dark double purple ones last year 
that were larger than any that I 
ever saw in the States. Calandula, 
Marigolds. Zinnia, Astor and Cos- 
mos must be started in-doors, Tu- 
lips will grow for a few years with 
out taking them up but Daffodils 
and Narcissus will stand the win- 
ters. I have grown Glads that the 
flowers measured 7 inches across. 
Dahliags are good but Iris will 
only grow one season. .We have a 
wild Iris that is dark purple and 
grows everywhere and so does the 
Blue. Lupine. Pansies will last 
two years and then has to be 
started new again. 
I am sending some pictures of 
our garden and flower show of 
last year. We do not have enough 
i bloom to have a spring show. 
be your selection? We will have 
Dr. Worth tell us what his selec- 
tions are. : 
Then Andrew Duchay of Chicago 
writes “Many thanks for your 
eatalog. It is different and I like 
it’, and we are pleased, too, but 
when R. B. Freeman of Western 
Springs, Ill., says, “In fact, your 



almost subseribe for it”, and writ- 
ten on his order, we are encour- 
aged. Well, this issue is of con- 
siderable improvement over the 
February issue. We have made 
many corrections, mostly in typo- 
graphical errors, and _ especially 
that large type on prices in the 
flowers. That was awful, but 
could not be corrected in time. 
‘We still are handicapped as to 
illustrations but these will come 
very soon. - 
Ralph Bennett of Arlington, 
Va., of the American Penstemon 
Society, corrects the~ pronuncia- 
We knew 
better but it got by some how. 
The accent is on the first syllable, : 
PEN-stee-mon; the February is- 
sue had it the old pronunciation. 
By the way, the dues for the 
Penstemon Society are $1.00 in- 
stead of $1.50. > b 
Many orders are coming in on 
which there are items either on 
the way or still not shipped: to | 
us. A few orders have therefore 
-been delayed due to this cause, 
but all will be mailed very 
shertly, 












































Pansy Strains 
Pansies with fascinating mark- 
ings and lacings together with 
bizarre colorings such as the Bug- 
not, Odier and Cassier strain, 
were at a time admired by ama- 
teurs in Europe and highly jn 
vogue there; the park boards of 
the large towns profited by the 
clear bright colors of the early or 
winter flowering strain te give 
their ornamental plantings a gay 
note as a compensation for the 
dul] aspect of industry and the 
same aim was followed by the 
large horticultural alee af 
which every country had its! snot, pe i 
yearly show. Magnificent carvets| tatoos grown hore The tanne 
of huge dimensions were laid ott | Ruta Baga weighed 14 Ibs. and 
by means of thrilling color con- Measured 32 inches around.” 
trasts in climates with @ long) NOTE: Now that was a very 
cool spring. » interesting letter, They have about 
The garden architecs, aS thes¢/13 members in their Garden Club 
landscapers were also called, had|and we might also mention that 
on their palette- the brilliant 
(Turn to PANSIES Page 16) 


Lupine, Mrs, Wheeldon mentions, 
you will find the Iris and Blue|items will be already listed in 
regular list in this issue. ' 





ATALOG OF a. 
OVER 4,000 > 
SPECIES & VARIETIES 

TEER = 
Sr 
MARCH - 1948 - Bie 5. 


aN) 
properly. 
happen. 
ceive an acknowledgement. 



easy. 
listed in our Flower Seed list. 
There is also an Arctic Cotton that 
grows wild on Kodiak Island, that 
is very pretty. I#have some she 
sent me and they remain the same 
all winter, so far. I feel sure 
some good use could be made: of 
these and if any. of our customers 
are interested in them, Maybe we 
can supply them with some next 
summer. = > 
: H. E.- Saier 
Flower Seeds 
The following seeds have been 
shipped us, but, notiee arcived too 
late for detailed listing im the 
regular list. If interested in any 
of these, drop us a card for prices, 
ete., otherwise you will find them 
listed in our next issue, next 
month. This list includes many 
rare species and all rather scarce. 
BEGONIA laciniata. 
lutea. Vie 
—gigantea. 
—Catheartii. g 
—picta. - ‘ 
—bhotan, sp. Andersoni. 
—Josephii, 
PRIMULA smithiana, 

these troubled times. 








—Sikkimensis, | rock garden treasures. Tie 
us : My own sowings have always been made in élay 
—elewesiana elongata. are quite as satisfactory, involve no expense, and will not crack in — 
—obliqua. freezing weather. If cans are used a number of holes should be» 
—vaginata, punched in the bottom with a nail to insure ample drainage.” In the - 
—Japonica, . _ | bottom of the pot an inch or so of gravel or stone chips, such as those 
—kingii. _ |used fer surfacing roads, is placed for drainage; traditionally this 
—Toylei. should be covered with a layer of Sphagnum moss, but I long ago 
—capitata. abandoned this as quite unnecessary. The pot is then filled within — 
—reticulata. half an inch of the top with fairly DRY soil mixture, and is shaken 
LILIUM giganteum gently to level the surface. Dp, Cov- 
—nepalense, 
ARISAEMA  speciosima, 
—erifithii. : 
ANEMONE rivularis. = 
—demissa. ‘ 
ANAPHALIS nubigena, 
ASTER sikkimensis. 
block or the base of another pot. 
many experiments I find that this 
—himalaicus. 
ANEMONE j ica. : f 
pM erica submerged completely in th soil and will remain legible fo 
Ufo : ( two years. Next the pot is set in U 
Slat gee s come just below the rim of the 
CRAWFURDIA speciosa, 
—affinis, _ 
ANDROSACE - hookeri. 
DICENTRA thalictrifolia,. 
CALCEOLARIA mexicana. 
CLERODENDRON  squamatum. 
ACONITUM palmatum. 
ALLIUM atropurpurea, 
ASTILBE rivularis, 
IRIS clarki, 
—kaempferi. 
INDIGOFERA dosua. 
IMPATIENS balsamina, 
JASMINUM humile. 
MECONOPSIS cathcartii. 
mination takes place. 
to attempt in a season. 
gardeners. I use a base mixture of e 
or fine gravel, leafmold or peat, and 
—nepalensis. potato. The soil mixture can ‘also 
—simplicifolia, water over the pots (before sowing 
—wallichii. set in a sunny windy place until at least the to 
IMPATIENS arguta, dry. I find this method rather tricky however, 
—urticifolia. is used, the soil may pack into a sticky mass 
—nepalensis, sowing. Sterilization is perhaps not 
NOTE: Some of the above 
not merely a weed. 
Monthly — N amber 48. 2 
Ordering—Important | 
First be sure to print your name and address. We get har mn zi 
dreds of letters every week of which it is impossible to make OM: - 

Remit in checks, money orders or, at your risk, in cash. We | 
did not have a single cash remittance lost last year, but it could ‘ 
Orders amounting to 25c you can remit in le stamps; 
25c - 50c in 3c stamps; 50c »95c in 5c or 10c stamps, but over thi 
amount do not send stamps, please. 
add their 3% sales tax. Don’t forget. ae 
Orders for seeds, bulbs, plants, etc., are not mailed in one 
package. Seeds usually go.out by return mail and are not ac- 
knowledged, but if there is any delay in shipping you will r 
Michigan customers plea 
On Flower Seeds there is a key-number just before the price. — 
To save you a lot of writing just use the symbol. 


e e 4 it ‘ = 
Raising Rare Rock Plants Fro 
C2 R.WOREH. S25 
St oa bs : 
Many otherwise excellent gardeners are filled with alarm ‘ab the- 
thought of. raising any but the easiest plants from seed, yet there is . 
no more exciting pastime for the enthusiast. From seed one may p 
cure choice kinds that are rarely if ever offered by nurseries, an 
commoner sorts in greater quantity than ean be purchased by any 
the most ample pocketbook. True, there will be some failures, 
some plants will not measure up to standard in quality, but ne 
always the chance of obtaining a superior form, while the thril a 
watching a rare species develop from tiny seed leaves to a prospe 
specimen in full bloom is something to make one forget the care: 
_ Raising plants from seed is not nearly as difficult as i 
supposed. A little care, and some patience, are ne 
kinds, but by following a few simple rules surprisi 
obtained by even the inexperienced. 8 = sis 
Many kinds can be sown in open-ground beds with 
cially large seeds, and those of quick-germinating and r: 
varieties, such as many of the common border perennials, but 
and tiny seedlings are likely to be washed away by a heavy rain. A 
frame which can be covered with glass in inclement weather isa 
improvement on the open bed. In using either of these methods, 
mination is greatly improved and hastened by covering the bed y 
a layer of burlap, which must be removed as soon as the first seedlin 
appear. Shading the young plants with a lath frame, or a sheet of 
muslin several inches above the ground, will prevent many losses. 
For expensive and hard-to-get seeds of choice and rare plants, 
sowing in pots is much to be preferred. The method described here 
has been used with success for a number of years, and has brought to 
maturity many of the more difficult Primulas, as well as such tricky 
things as Gentians, Androsaces, Cyananthus, and hundreds of other 
The seed is scattered thinly on top, cov-_ 
ered with the same soil mixture (to which a little more sand may well 
be added); fine seeds need only the slightest dustinig of soil over them, 
and covering to a depth equal to the size of the seeds is ample in any ~ 
case. Now the soil in the sown pot is tamped down firmly with a small — 
But what of the soil mixture? T 


anes 
> 
“j 




f 








— 
\ 
It is short and» 



ane 
ni success, 
x 




> 




; AS as 

Labelling is necessary, and afper 
is best done by writing the name __ 
and source of the seed on a small strip cut from one of the various — 
metal labels now on the market. The label may for convenience be  _ 
submerged completely in the soil and will remain legible for at least —_. 
rat: leagt® 
a tub containing enough water to 
pot, and when the water has seeped 
through to moisten the top of the soil thoroughly, the pot is 
is removed _ 
and set in a shaded place, covered with black building paper until ger- : 
I use the concrete floor of a shed; a cold frame 
or corner of a garage would be equally satisfactory. ~ 3 
All this sounds likea lot of work, but with a little experience, and 
by preparing a number of pots at a time, it is a simple matter to sow | 
at least 150 pots in one morning—more than most gardeners are likely. 
This serves for 
almost all kinds of plants; a few such as primulas will welcome a little — 
more leafmold, others perhaps will like a half-part of fine stone chips 
or finely crushed clay flowerpots, though I am not yet convinced that 
To sterilize the 


laden soil, if a seedling appears in a sterilized pot, Ik 

eS 
pots, but tin cans _ : 
Pal | 

Pe 
~*~ 



















































































































